Zonal Boundaries
Definition
Zonal boundaries are the polygons that define areas for aggregation, governance, markets, or analysis—districts, service areas, ecoregions. Boundaries must be accurate, non-overlapping, and documented with lineage and versioning. Misaligned or outdated boundaries produce misleading statistics.
Application
Elections, school assignments, health catchments, utility billing, and conservation all depend on reliable boundaries to allocate resources fairly.
FAQ
How should boundary changes be communicated?
Publish change logs, effective dates, and crosswalk tables linking old and new IDs so time-series analyses remain coherent.
What projection issues arise near borders?
Different agencies may use different CRSs; harmonize or transform before overlay to avoid slivers and miscounts.
How to resolve overlaps and gaps?
Use topology rules, authoritative hierarchies, and arbitration processes with stakeholders; document decisions.
When are fuzzy boundaries appropriate?
For ecological or market zones where transitions are gradual; encode as probabilities rather than hard lines.